Author Archives: Royal Hats

Closer Look: The Thaarup Blue Lattice Hat

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Royal HatsWhen the British Royal Family visited Norway in August, 1969, Queen Elizabeth wore an interesting hat that looked to be an oversized, braided pillbox:

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This hat was included in the Holyrood House section of this year’s three-part exhibition, ‘Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen’s Wardrobe’. The Royal Collection Trust shared this photo of it as displayed in the exhibition:

This view shows the piece is actually a complex design featuring a straw base through which silk organza is woven- a design that creates a hat with amazing textural contrast. These days, we usually expect trim (feathers, flowers etc.) to provide most of a hat’s visual interest, something that this hat creates entirely through its interwoven design. It is not a hat that transcends time particularly well – the shape and design are firmly rooted in 1960s style – but for its time, I think this is a compelling piece.
What do you think of this design, now that we’ve had a closer look?
Photos from Getty as indicated and The Royal Collection Trust

Closer Look: The Dotted Feathered Blue Turban

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Royal HatsWhen Prince William was christened in August 1982, it was a major event which, naturally, called for new hats all around. Perhaps as a nod to her new grandson, Queen Elizabeth chose head-to-hem blue dotted silk chiffon for her ensemble.

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Using the turban shape Her Majesty often wore during this time, milliner Frederick Fox formed the silk chiffon into fine horizontal pleats around the hat and topped it with a cascade of blue ostrich feathers. This hat is included in the Holyrood House section of this year’s amazing three-part retrospective on the Queen’s fashion and, thanks to the Royal Collection Trust, we get a better view of it than we have seen before.

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I think the feathers make this piece. While certainly whimsical, they break up the turban shape and give this small design a wonderful sense of movement and fun. The pleats soften the dotted print, barely saving the Queen from “death by dots” overkill on the overall ensemble. I think it’s a masterful use of a difficult fabric and an even more difficult millinery shape – I can only guess that the Queen also liked it, as she repeated the outfit several times through the 1980s, including on a trip to the Solomon Islands in October 1982.

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What do you think of this hat design, now that we’ve had a closer look?
Photos from Getty as indicated 

This Week’s Extras

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Royal Hats

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent took in the Salzburg Festival this week. It’s not technically a hat but Marie Christine’s getup has me scratching my head. WHY?

Princess Michael of Kent, August 18, 2016 | Royal Hats

 While it’s been a slow week of working royal hats, there have been numerous ones spotted at the Olympics. Third place goes to the synchro baseball hat wearing King and Queen of Sweden.

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Silver medal for Olympic royal hat wearing goes to adorable Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, in a floppy straw design (she gets extra points for her impressive collection of Olympic pins displayed on her lanyard):

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And the gold medal…. Queen Maxima’s straw fedora, which made multiple Olympic appearances. So chic.

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 Royal Hats

Great overview of recent celebrations for Liechtenstein’s National Day here and here (Luxarazzi)

Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako and a Princess Aiko celebrated Japan’s first ‘Mountain Day’ national holiday with a hike in Matsumoto, Nagano last weekend. Imperial royals in plaid = happy claps.

Crown Prince Naruhito, August 11, 2016 | Royal Hats

I leave you this week with the hands-down winners for for royal cheerleading at the Olympics (with an honorable mention to young Nicolas of Sweden as posted here by his mum)

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Photo from Rex Features and Asahi Shimbun

Closer Look: The Pope’s Visit Hat

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Royal HatsMy apologies for a quiet week here at Royal Hats. I’m under the weather and have been tucked in bed. I always feel better when discussing hats so let’s get some conversation started!

Another one of the hats on display at Holyrood House for this summer’s exhibition ‘Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen’s Wardrobe’ is this straw design by Angela Kelly that Queen Elizabeth wore for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the UK in September 2010.

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The Royal Collection Trust shared this better view of the ensemble from the exhibition: .

 

Photographs taken during the visit seem to have washed out the colour of this hat and coat and I was surprised to see it is not grey but a pale, slate blue. I like the wide straw hat band but find the crown on this design to be a little too exaggerated for my taste- it’s just a little too tall and too pointy for this be a pretty hat. This closeup view shows the attention paid to the feather trim, my favourite feature on this hat. As for the button… it’s an interesting touch but the placement floating in the middle of brim is off for me. I think I prefer hat trims that hug the base of the crown. In the end, it’s an interesting hat but the shape and washed out colour make it a miss for me.
What do you think of this hat design, now that we’ve had a closer look?
Photos from Getty as indicated